I do. Fruits are sweet but quite astringent. Makes a small tree when grafted on rowan. Very pretty throughout the year. P.S. talking about Aronia arbutifolia.
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Thanks for the answer, I appreciate it. Is there any coloring in the flesh? I’ve looked all over the web and haven’t been able to find anything definitive.
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Just saw you’re in the Czech Republic. I used to live in Prague while attending Charles University—it’s where I met my American wife. Beautiful country and great people. The only problem was I drank way too much pivo—it was way too good. I’ve been back several times but someday I hope to make it to the Sorbus domestica festival.
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Czech pivko is dangerous stuff haha
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@AdamNY I think that the main source of low scape hedger (UCONNAM166) is no longer offering it but I noticed that it was a triploid aronia that resulted from pollinating Ground Hug with Viking pollen. It was noted to not fruit much (though I imagine this means some fruit which could have been useful in terms of generating higher ploid seedlings).
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I agree it could potentially make a good addition to a breeding program. It’s the only commercially available triploid Aronia I’ve been able to find. The reason I haven’t ordered it is that several sources list it as not producing fruit at all. That alone wouldn’t necessarily give me pause, but Dr. Brand’s paper you linked also describes the cultivar as generally sterile and even highlights the lack of fruiting as one of its ornamental traits. That said, it still appears capable of producing fruit under some conditions.
My guess is that its pollen is sterile (or nearly so), and the cultivar’s stigma position may discourage outcrossing. If that’s the case, it could still have some utility. I plan to wait and see whether any of the seedlings I’m growing turn out to be triploid. If not, I’ll probably end up ordering this cultivar or requesting one of the higher-fertility triploids from GRIN.
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That makes sense just wanted to mention it. Have you found any research on if apple (malus) has any graft compatibility with aronia?
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I haven’t tried it yet, but apparently apple can work as a rootstock for Aronia in some cases. I have a few-year-old apple seedlings, so I might give it a try this year. I bet Aronia on apple would make a beautiful tree. Here’s a photo of Aronia on Crataegus - note the bulge at the rootstock.
Chart isn’t comprehensive
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yep. pyrus definitely grows on sorbus americana. didnt know serviceberry would grow on pear.
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Medlar (I hope) grows on Quince. I grafted one last year. I think it was tied with the Aprium on Krymsk 1 as my ugliest graft that took and has survived the Winter so far.
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Oh, that reminds me, I really would love to try crossing medlar and aronia. Cheifly to add disease resistance.
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That would be a really cool hybrid if it worked. Disease resistance, in particular, is a trait that would ideally be transferable to other genera through intergeneric hybrids with Aronia.
My Amelanchier (serviceberry) tend to have disease-prone foliage, whereas Aronia has notably healthier leaves. Since naturally occurring Amelanchier × Sorbus hybrids already exist—and given that some taxonomists consider Aronia to be closely related to, or even within, Sorbus—I think an Amelanchier × Aronia cross is a promising candidate for intergeneric hybridization.
Amelanchier shares some of the same challenges as Aronia, especially the fact that most commercially available cultivars are tetraploid. One possible exception is Amelanchier obovalis ‘Jennybelle’, which I suspect may be diploid. I picked up a ‘Jennybelle’ earlier this year and plan to experiment with it once it reaches bearing age.
Unrelated to Aronia, I also bought several Crataegus varieties with fruit over 1 inch this year (from Fruitwood and Cricket Hill). My long-term plan is to try crossing them with one of the better-tasting, large-fruited medlar selections that I’m currently grafting. Since natural hybrids already exist between these groups, I’m hoping the cross won’t be too difficult.
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I forgot about the medlar hawthorn hybrids like the sterns medlar. I would be very interested in seeds from your cross if you are looking for somewhere to grow them out.
Medlar has too much disease issues and I would really like there to be some disease resistance introduced into them.
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Absolutely—I’ll send you whatever you’d like. It may take a few years before any potential hybrids show up, though.
I grafted the hawthorn scions onto seedling Crataegus rootstock. I also have some extra buds in the fridge that I’m planning to try on bearing-age apple and pear. My thinking is that the hawthorns might fruit faster on those, but I’m not entirely sure about compatibility.
I picked up the following hawthorn scions to try crossing with medlar, and I may add a few more along the way:
- Crataegus pinnatifida ‘Autumn Golden Star’
- Crataegus pinnatifida ‘Red Sun’ (Da Mian Qiu)
- Crataegus azarolus ‘Red Azarole’
- Crataegus opaca ‘Big Red Mayhaw’
I also have a bunch of Tejocote seeds, but germinating them has been a challenge. I’ve tried all sorts of scarification treatments. At this point, I may just plant them in the ground and let them sit for a couple of years.
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You have a good selection! Golden azerol is on my list as another hawthorn of desire for me. I’ve read things of hawthorns being able to hybridize with about any pome fruit, just requires the right species to do the cross with, and that deterred me from really even thinking of trying to collect different types of hawthorn to use for breeding. Makes me like the idea of a fraken hawthorn tree for use for breed.
I’m curious if any hawthorns could hybridize with loquat to get a hardy loquat (that’s another one I have on as having possibility)?
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Crataegus does seem to have wider compatibility than most other genera. There are multiple crosses with medlar and at least one reported with Sorbus. I don’t know too much about loquat, but I could see it as a potential candidate for crosses. I’m not sure how closely they are related taxonomically, but the cultivar ‘Coppertone’ is an intergeneric hybrid between a relative of a “Japanese medlar” and “Indian hawthorn.” Of course, neither of those is truly a medlar or a hawthorn, but at some point someone must have considered them closely related to give them those common names.
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Phylogenetically, it appears that loquat (Eriobotrya) are actually closer to pears than to Aronia or hawthorns. Sorbus are variable since it includes many species which are not phylogenetically close enough to each other to warrant all being placed in the same genus (Sorbus is a mess).
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They might be irradiated and dead. A lot of imported fruit gets irradiated to control post spread (a good thing IMHO) so the seeds might be intact and look normal but are actually toast. Depends on who sold you those seeds and your they got them.
Also, I don’t think that Aronia I mentioned set fruit this year. I’ll just send you dormant cuttings next spring if that’s ok? I can also send some Crataegus marshalii, it’s an interesting one that prefers floodplains and best I can tell doesn’t have much disease issues unlike all the other native rose family members in this region.
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I hadn’t considered that they might be irradiated—that would almost certainly explain why the seeds I got from grocery store fruit didn’t germinate, and likely the case for the ones I bought online as well. I feel a bit foolish given how much time and money I spent trying to get them to sprout when they were probably never viable to begin with.
I’d really appreciate any germplasm for the projects I have going. I’d be more than happy to send along any seeds or scions I have that might be of interest in return.
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Yeah I had the same results with Mexican cream guava. I often buy the fruits since around here Walmart of all places carries them. A few times I tried my luck with cleaning and sowing the seed but zero luck, I’ve assumed it was because they were irradiated.
I’ll keep it in mind. The aronia, hawthorn, and potentially others that could be useful to you (is firethorn hardy in your area? The naturalized populations of those down here are really bulletproof), are mostly not on my land and I’ve a mind to get some transplanted for ornamental and wildlife benefit. Regardless, I’ll plan on sending you cuttings in late winter.
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